In their judgment, Shiffrin rules

Albany County Judge Stephen Herrick's wife is sister of U.S. skier's mom

Robert Gavi, Times Union

By Robert Gavin

Published 9:38 pm, Wednesday, February 19, 2014

SOCHI, RUSSIA - FEBRUARY 18: Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States prepares to make a run during the Alpine Skiing Women's Giant Slalom on day 11 of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at Rosa Khutor Alpine Center on February 18, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 461593469

SOCHI, RUSSIA - FEBRUARY 18: Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States...

Mikaela Shiffrin of the U.S. makes her way past a gate while competing in the women's giant slalom at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, Feb. 18, 2014. Shiffrin finished fifth in the event. (Doug MIlls/The New York Times) ORG XMIT: XNYT5

Mikaela Shiffrin of the U.S. makes her way past a gate while...

Mikaela Shiffrin of the U.S. reacts after competing in the women's giant slalom during the 2014 Winter Olympics at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, Feb. 18, 2014. Shiffrin finished fifth in the event. (Doug MIlls/The New York Times) ORG XMIT: XNYT12

Mikaela Shiffrin of the U.S. reacts after competing in the women's...

A skier is reflected in the goggles of United States' Mikaela Shiffrin as she stands on the alpine skiing training slopes at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, Monday, Feb. 17, 2014, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati) ORG XMIT: OLYAL101

A skier is reflected in the goggles of United States' Mikaela...

SOCHI, RUSSIA - FEBRUARY 18: Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States reacts after the Alpine Skiing Women's Giant Slalom on day 11 of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at Rosa Khutor Alpine Center on February 18, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 461593469

SOCHI, RUSSIA - FEBRUARY 18: Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States...

U.S. skier Mikaela Shiffrin speaks during a U.S. ski team press conference at the Gorki media centre at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2014, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. Shiffrin, an 18-year-old from Eagle-Vail, Colo., will be favored to win the gold medal in the womens slalom at the Sochi Olympics next week. Shes also a contender for a medal in the giant slalom. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena) ORG XMIT: OLYTH107

U.S. skier Mikaela Shiffrin speaks during a U.S. ski team press...

SOCHI, RUSSIA - FEBRUARY 18: Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States makes a run during the Alpine Skiing Women's Giant Slalom on day 11 of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at Rosa Khutor Alpine Center on February 18, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 461593469

Mikaela Shiffrin is a world champion, first-time Olympic medal contender and "once-in-a-lifetime talent" in Alpine skiing.

And she turns just 19 next month.

In the Capital Region, Shiffrin carries another distinction: niece of Albany County Court Judge Stephen Herrick.

The judge, whose wife, Anne-Marie, is the older sister of the skier's mother, Eileen Shiffrin, has spent the past several days in Lanesboro, Mass., in the Berkshires, home to Herrick's 93-year-old mother-in-law, Polly Condron. There, Herrick and other proud family members of the teenage prodigy have gathered to watch — and root — as Shiffrin goes for the gold medal Friday in slalom racing, her specialty.

She is the reigning World Cup champion in that category, in which she also won the International Ski Federation World Championship last year.

But even with a gold medal possibly in her future, Shiffrin has stayed in touch with her family in the Berkshires via FaceTime and Skype from the Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.

Herrick said Shiffrin visits her grandmother's home — a short drive from Albany — several times a year. The judge, who has presided over some of the highest-profile criminal trials in Albany, many involving teenage killers, lauded Shiffrin on and off the slopes.

"She's the total package," Herrick said. "She's an incredible athlete with an almost unearthly ability to ski and she is just a really nice kid. She would be the kind of child that any parent would be thrilled to have."

Shiffrin's mother, a nurse, is an accomplished skier and her daughter's frequent road companion. Her father, Jeff Shiffrin, an anesthesiologist, skied in college at Dartmouth. The parents are in Sochi for the games. Shiffrin's older brother, Taylor, meanwhile, is a skier in college.

The family support for Shiffrin extends to Boston, where Herrick's daughters live and where they held a party for their famous first cousin's appearance on the national stage.

"It's an incredibly close-knit family," the judge said. "They're in very close contact."

Shiffrin made her Olympic debut on Tuesday. She winked to the cameras seconds before entering the start gate for the giant slalom, where she placed fifth. She had faced such skiing heavyweights as Slovenia's Tina Maze, Anna Fenninger of Austria and Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany, who won the gold, silver and bronze medals, respectively.

"I knew it was a possibility that I wouldn't get a medal and it was a possibility that I would," Shiffrin said on NBC-TV after the event. Asked how much she was looking forward to Friday's event, Shiffrin said, "I'm really excited. It's really cool to be here, to be a part of this whole scene."

During Tuesday's broadcast, NBC announcer Christin Cooper, a silver medalist in giant slalom in the 1984 Olympics, described Shiffrin as "truly a once-in-a-lifetime talent," adding, "One day, she could beat everyone at everything. She really could. It's just a matter of how long it takes her to get her feet underneath her in discipline after discipline."

Shiffrin's debut came amid weather conditions considered atrocious due to thick snowflakes, rain and sleet.

"We thought she did exceptionally well finishing fifth. She was half-a-second behind the leader," Herrick said. "We're very happy with the result and think she did really well and are really looking forward to what happens on Friday."

Shiffrin grew up around Vail, Colo., where she learned to ski on the family's driveway at the age of 2. She also lived as a young child in Lyme, N.H., before moving back to Colorado where Shiffrin's career took off.

"You should see the videos of her when she's 2, 3, 4, 5 years old doing slalom runs," Herrick said. "It's incredible."